Virat Kohli to step down as RCB captain after IPL 2021

IPL 2021 | Should we bow to him? He is a king: Twitter reacts to Ruturaj Gaikwad’s brilliant innings

It was one of the best innings in terms of craft in the Indian Premier League 2021 as Ruturaj Gaikwad fought through the tough moments and eventually got his team to what looked like an improbable total at one stage in the innings. Starting the innings as opener alongside Faf du Plessis, Gaikwad was as usual slow to start with, his intent was further curtailed as four other batters apart from him in the top five returned back to the dressing room in single figures. He then got on with Ravindra Jadeja and built a partnership to make a base for unleashing those beautiful, but greatly effective shots. After the 81 run stand, when Jadeja got out with the team score still 105, it seemed that CSK might not be able to get to 140 that they were targeted after the partnership developed. But to everyone’s surprise, not only did Dwayne Bravo got going, Gaikwad played some exquisite shots and he played it all over, be it over cover for a six off Jasprit Bumrah, straight down the ground, paddle sweeping a yorker from Trent Boult and then the last shot, kneeling down to a Bumrah Yorker and hitting it over fine leg for a six, that was just icing on the cake. From 26 off 30 balls at one stage, Gikawad ended up unbeaten at 88 off 58 balls, striking at more than 151 and getting CSK from 44-4 in the first 10 overs to 156-6 at the end of the last 10.

IPL 2021 | CSK vs MI: Steady Gaikwad, ruthless Bravo hold fort for Chennai after disastrous start

In a dramatic turn around of things, the Chennai Super Kings made a brilliant comeback against Mumbai Indians in the first match of the second leg of IPL 2021 in Dubai after a disastrous start. The Super Kings were reduced to 7/3 at the end of the third over with the likes of Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali and Suresh Raina back in the hut. While Faf and Moeen were dismissed for ducks, Raina could only manage to score 4 off 6 deliveries. Ambati Rayudu who had come in at number four was retired hurt after he was hit on the elbow in the second over. CSK then suffered a huge blow as captain MS Dhoni who is generally known to help his side come out of such tricky situations also departed for 5-ball 3 after he was undone by Adam Milne. While the Chennai team lost early wickets, opener Ruturaj Gaikwad showed his class and calibre and held the fort from one end. He was joined by Ravindra Jadeja in the middle after Dhoni departed and the left-right duo stitched a stand of 81 runs for the fifth wicket. Jadeja was eventually undone by Jasprit Bumrah for 26 off 33 while Gaikwad went on to score a half-century. But the real drama was yet to unleash as Jadeja was replaced by Dwayne Bravo and the right-hander just took on the MI bowling in the death overs. CSK gathered a total of 49 runs in the last three overs as Bravo scored a ruthless 8-ball 23 that included three maximums during the course. Gaikwad remained unbeaten at 88 off 58 as CSK put 156/6 in 20 overs. Adam Milne was the pick of the bowlers for MI after he returned with figures of 2/21 in 4 overs while Rahul Chahar didn’t pick up any wickets but only gave 22 runs in 4 overs.

Can understand why Indian players were anxious: Broad on India not playing fifth Test

England fast bowler Stuart Broad has come in support of the Indian team; the players had refused to play the fifth and final Test in Manchester. The Indian team’s coaching staff including the head coach Ravi Shastri had tested positive for Covid-19 while physio Yogesh Parmar was the latest addition to the list of backroom staff to test positive for the virus. "We have seen the pressures of being away from home for a long period of time most recently with India returning zero positive Covid tests within their group but still feeling anxious enough to not play a Test match. I get that,” Broad wrote in a column in Daily Mail. "I am certainly not going to preach that what they did was wrong because I remember how I felt for the last Test match in Ahmedabad (when England toured India), having been locked away for 10 weeks in hotel rooms,” the right-arm bowler who had been earlier ruled out of the series added. India were leading the five-match Test series 2-1 before the final Test was abandoned. There is still no clarity on the result of the series. The BCCI had offered them to play two extra T20Is in England when the Indian team will be on tour next year. "It is correct that we have offered to play two extra T20Is when we visit England next July (only for the white-ball games). Instead of three T20Is, we will play five T20Is,” Jay Shah told Cricbuzz. The first match of the series ended in a draw while India clinched victories at Lord’s and at The Kennington Oval.

IPL 2021 Preview: With new recruitments, RCB look to begin campaign from where they left vs KKR

Change is the only constant and when it comes to the Indian Premier League, this is the most appropriate saying to summarise what all the cash-rich league has witnessed in the past one year. For starters, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had to move the last season of the IPL to UAE looking at the Covid-19 situation and the governing body had to take the call again in order to conclude this year’s edition. The IPL was suspended on May 4 after there was a rise in Covid-19 cases within the franchises forcing the BCCI to put a halt on the tournament. After a lot of discussion and some nations showing interest in hosting the remainder of IPL 2021 on their soil, it was decided that it will be held in UAE. This would be the third time and second instance on the trot when the IPL will be held in the country. Nevertheless, after all the hustle and struggle, the tournament is back on track and the second encounter of this second half will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders in Abu Dhabi. The teams who have totally distinguished and opposite portfolio as far as the IPL title is concerned. While RCB have played three finals and have won none, KKR have a couple of them under their belt. But these are the tales of the past. Looking at the current scenario, RCB just seem to be a dominating force in the competition not just against the Kolkata-based franchise but in the IPL 2021. They etched wins in five out of the seven matches that they played during the India leg while thumped KKR by 38 runs in the previous respective clash. RCB posted 204/4 in 20 overs riding on a masterclass from Glenn Maxwell who notched up 78 off 49 and a brutal assault from AB de Villiers who remained unbeaten at 34-ball 76. The Bangalore franchise had bought Glenn Maxwell to strengthen the middle-order while Harshal Patel has been the highest-wicket taker so far in this season. Harshal’s contribution with the ball along with the presence of captain Virat Kohli, Maxwell and AB de Villiers in the batting unit has provided stability to RCB. There have been only two occasions when the team failed to deliver when they lost the game against CSK after Ravindra Jadeja “completely” dominated and beat them. The all-rounder’s performance with both bat and ball thoroughly dominated RCB during the fixture. Apart from this, the Kohli-led side suffered their second defeat against Punjab Kings after the batsmen failed to deliver and the team lost the match by 34 runs while chasing 180 eventually. Harpreet Brar was on song after the spinner scalped the three priced wickets of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers to put his side in front. This was one rare instance in the tournament where the RCB batting line up especially Maxwell and de Villiers failed to leave a mark. Kolkata on the other hand have faced some major issues with their form and have had a totally contrasting time during the first leg. The Knight Riders lost five out of the seven matches that they played. One major aspect that the team management needs to fix as early as possible is the consistency. If the batsmen have been among the runs, the bowlers have faced a tough time in the middle and vice-versa. The two departments have failed to complement each other and this is surely a major cause of concern for the captain as well as the management. But this has all been about the first half. The teams would be considering this as a new beginning. Match Details KKR vs RCB, IPL 2021, Match 31 Date and Time: 20th September 2021, 7:30 PM IST Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Coverage: Star Sports Network Pitch Report The track at Sheikh Zayed Stadium seems to have something for the batsmen. Though, there would be swing on offer while the spinners won’t get much help from the pitch. The dew will be another major factor, so, if you win the toss, elect to field first. Harshal Patel-An asset Fast bowler Harshal Patel has the most number of wickets so far in the competition. The right-hander has scalped 17 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 15.11. Though he has been a bit expensive but has been picking up wickets for the side consistently. Moreover, Harshal has used the slower ones and the short and back of the length deliveries quite efficiently and this might help him in the second half of the IPL as well. The right-arm bowler would be riding high on confidence, has wickets in his kitty and has some variation on offer. RCB bank on youngsters Every time Devdutt Padikkal plays a stroke, his batting stance and backlift reminds fans of Yuvraj Singh. Padikkal took just one IPL season to stamp his authority when he played for RCB for the first time in the last season. The left-hander is back in the country where he forced everyone to notice him. The youngster has certainly carried that in this season as well after he scored a ton against the Rajasthan Royals in only his third game of the edition. He has been able to give decent starts to RCB so far and the team would be expecting the same from him when they take the field again on Monday. Stable middle-order Captain Virat Kohli had been pretty vocal about including Glenn Maxwell in the setup and how the Australian player is there to provide stability in the middle-order. In fact, Maxwell has been pretty successful on doing that so far in the IPL 2021 for the Bangalore team along with AB de Villiers who always have something new to unveil when he takes the guard. With Kohli at the top and Maxwell and de Villiers in the middle-order, RCB have made good investments in making a steady batting line up. Inconsistency can never be the KEY As we talked earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders are struggling with consistency. When the batsmen score runs, the bowlers are not able to put a halt to the opponents’ scoring rate and when the bowlers are in good touch, the batsmen fail to leave a mark. For instance, during their encounter against SRH, KKR put up a good total of 187/6 in 20 overs after Nitish Rana hammered the Hyderabad bowlers all around the park but won the match by only 10 runs despite picking up early wickets. Similarly, against Mumbai Indians, the KKR bowlers bundled out the Mumbai team for 152 and the Kolkata openers Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill did provide them with a steady start but the side lost their way in the middle overs and eventually lost by 10 runs after getting restricted to 142/7 in 20 overs. These are the only two instances out of the many where KKR have lacked in one of the two departments and have been struggling in the competition. Andre Russell’s silence Andre Russell is probably one of the finest all-rounders in world cricket at the moment but the right-hander hasn’t been up to the mark for KKR, neither with the bat nor with the ball. While he just has seven wickets in seven matches, he has managed to score 153 runs during the course so far. KKR would be wanting him to unleash an innings or two of his calibre. Well, he did one against CSK but that too went in vain as KKR lost the match. Team News RCB: There were a lot of additions and subtractions in the line ups after it was announced that the second leg of the IPL will be held in UAE and would end a couple of days ahead of the World T20 2021. Adam Zampa, Daniel Sams, Finn Allen, Scott Kuggeleijn, Kane Richardson and Washington Sundar are the players unavailable for the second leg of the IPL 2021. “Finn Allen and Scott Kuggeleijn have both been selected for New Zealand tours, and they won’t be part of RCB. Kane Richardson has made himself unavailable, as has Daniel Sams,” Mike Hesson, RCB’s Director of Cricket Operations and now head coach, announced at a press conference earlier. Sundar will be missing the remainder due to a finger injury. "Royal Challengers Bangalore's all-rounder Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the remainder of the Vivo IPL 2021 due to an impending finger injury," RCB said in a statement. Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Tim David, George Garton and Akash Deep have been included in the squad. “We have replaced Adam Zampa with Wanindu Hasaranga,” Hesson had said. KKR: Tim Southee replaced Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins who had pulled out of the remainder citing personal reasons. "Kolkata Knight Riders, the two-time IPL Champions, has announced today that New Zealand pacer Tim Southee will replace Australian pace sensation Pat Cummins for the remainder of the Vivo Indian Premier League 2021 season," KKR said in a release. Probable XI Kolkata Knight Riders: Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Fantasy XI AB de Villiers (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, Nitish Rana (vc), Wanindu Hasaranga, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Varun Chakravarthy